In a statement, the Ohio Democrat made it clear he didn't see the widely-covered incident as anything to giggle at: The olive pit split a tooth in half, painfully, causing an infection all the way to the bone and requiring the replacement of not one but six teeth -- which his health insurance didn't cover, Kucinich said. (There was also a course of antibiotics that caused all kinds of nasty side effects. See all the grisly details in statement on his congressional Web site.)

The former presidential contender said the settlement he reached with the contractor that runs the Longworth cafeteria and a couple suppliers "reflects the actual out-of-pocket expenses." Oh, and that "I don't want to have to make another dental visit for a very long time."

Regarding Settlement of Dental Injury Law Suit
Dear Friend,
Though I would prefer to focus your attention on my work dealing with the profoundly important issues that face our nation, such as job creation, getting the economy back on track, and ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - it seems that some are more interested in discussing my personal dental issues. Given the degree of public interest you should know some details:
This injury required nearly two years, three dental surgeries, and a substantial amount of money to rectify.
The legal action you have heard about was filed due to the severity, expense and duration of the dental injury, the complications which followed and which still persist. I wanted to resolve this matter without filing a lawsuit. The events below involved numerous dental visits, more than are detailed in this summary.The dental injury set in motion a chain of dental and medical events.
When I bit into the olive pit, (unbeknown to me at the time), upon impact the tooth split in half, vertically through the crown and the tooth, below the level of the bone. Externally there was no evidence of a break. This was not about aesthetics. The internal structure of the tooth was rendered nonrestorable.Although the pain was excruciating, I shook it off and I went right back to work.
This tooth is a key tooth which anchored my upper bridgework. The injured tooth and the bone above it became infected. I took a course of antibiotics for the infection, had an adverse reaction to the antibiotics which caused me to have an intestinal obstruction and emergency medical intervention.
Later, my dentist referred me to a specialist who informed me that the damaged tooth had to be removed. A third dentist removed the tooth and I was fitted for a temporary partial. I waited for the bone to heal. An implant was placed, but it failed. Many months later still a second implant succeeded. My bridgework had to be completely reconfigured, a new partial was designed, so this injury did not affect only one tooth, but rather involved six (6) replacement teeth as well. A new crown with a new precision attachment was engineered and put in place. To clarify, no dental expenses were covered by any health plan, nor did I have dental insurance that covered the injury, which, until it was resolved, affected my ability to chew food properly.
The clamor for information about this incident requires that I provide at least this much information. I would have liked to provide such details sooner but did not want it said that I was trying the case in the media. So that is why I declined any interviews about the matter.The parties have exchanged information and after some investigation and discussion have resolved the matter for an amount all parties believe reflects the actual out-of-pocket expenses related to this incident. The terms of the settlement are confidential; however, I feel that the defendants have responded fairly and reasonably. I don't want to have to make another dental visit for a very long time, and will be making no further comment on this matter.
Thank you very much.
Dennis

I have never understood why dental insurance is separate from medical insurance. Don't we all know that poor dental health can affect overall health and that physical problems can be reflected in our dental health? So, while we're talking about reform, how considering that? (and I'm sure THAT will go over like a lead balloon)

Just to let you know that the 'wonderful' health insurance the feds get doesn't cover dental. So many assumptions people make about the great benefits the taxpayers pay their employees are contradicted by specific facts.

If this guy was not an elected official, nobody would have a problem with him being compensated for his loss. I bet that most people on the board wouldn't have a problem either if Kuchinich were a Republican, and, if he were a tea partier too, they would demand damages in the millions and call for investigations.

To those of you posting negatively here...if what happened to Kucinich happens to you, you will see what hypocrites you are because I bet you'd be going after as much $ as you could. It is because you disagree with the man's politics that you're being so nasty. Grow up.

You tell them Mr. Kucinich. If your detractors could read, they wouldn't be large and defecating sphincters in the first place. And had they heeded any of your advice, they would not have squandered America's moral high ground in Iraq either.

Some advice for WaPo: Put your comment box and new comments at the top of the comment section, not the bottom, and allow reply threads, back-and-forth between your community members. That builds online community. Clinging to the traditional one-to-many pulp-based dictatorship of news and opinion is a losing proposition. Today we expect to be empowered with many-to-many discussion threads. Really active forums. You start the discussion, we'll chime in and discuss. Unfortunately, I see your online presence is being eclipsed by startup sites with better forum features. For instance, take a look at Huffington Post, they know how to build online community. I would really like to see WaPo grow into new media but I see way too much clinging to clunky old paradigms here.

Greeenmts is absolutely right. Right-wing "second amendment solution" and "tea-party" types (presumably) get s*ck*d *ff all the time, and nobody calls Ken Starr. But just let somebody who has what it takes to call the warmongers' on some of their lies (such as Saddam Hussain has weapons of mass descruction), like Mr. Kucinich did, and that person gets harrangued just for asserting his or her common civil rights! Howerever, the anti-"lib'rul"s are not likely to grow up anytime soon. What would they do then?

I just read the full text of his statement over on his website, and what from what I can glean, his claim seems completely $150,000 in medical expenses is a lot, even for a congressman. If a restaurant was the cause of the injury, they should pay what's appropriate. It seems to me that Congressman Kucinich exhausted all means prior to filing a lawsuit and I think the negative attention he's been receiving is unfair.

You should read the full text of the statement here: http://kucinich.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28892&Itemid=2

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